A Single KFC With WiFi
Two interesting angles on this local news item from somewhere in the middle of Pennsylvania about a KFC installing free WiFi for customers. First, the big story is that this was just done by the owner of the KFC. When McDonald's decided to do WiFi, they made a big splash about it and signed big deals and got lots of publicity. In this case, a local KFC owner just decided it was a good idea. Second, part of the reason he made that decision was he bought a WiFi-enabled laptop and was upset to discover that it didn't work like a mobile phone with wireless coverage everywhere. Intel is already being investigated for their ads which imply this is true, so here's more evidence that your everyday user is a bit confused about how WiFi coverage works. In the meantime, though, it's nice to see owners of restaurants excited to just set up WiFi for their customers and let them enjoy the benefits. He doesn't seem to concerned about charging for it. And, isn't even that worried about whether or not it will bring in more business. He just thought it was a good idea that customers might like.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team